Ashes - Predictions

Another ashes series beckons (too soon but.....)

So, who will be top scorers, wicket takers, and eventual winners?

England top scorer

Cook

England top wicket taker

Broad

Australia top scorer

Clarke

Australia top wicket taker

Siddle

Series result - Australia 2-1

England top run scorer - Cook
England top wicket taker - Anderson

Australia top run scorer - Clarke
Australia top wicket taker - Siddle

Series Result? Australia 0-3 England (1st and 3rd Test a draw, 2nd, 4th, and 5th Tests to be English wins - one innings victory included).

I think England will bat better than they did in the summer (Bell excepted), so I think we'll win the series quite handily - 3-1 being my guess.

Top run scorers:
England - Trott (he's due a good series)
Australia - Warner (Clarke to miss one or two matches with his dodgy back)

Top wicket takers:
England - Broad
Aus - Mitch Johnson, probably taking 6 for not much twice and 1 or 2 for plenty for the rest of the series. Harris to not play all 5 Tests.

Pietersen, Anderson.
Watson, Harris.

Got to back England to get the job done, think Australia will pinch a Test somewhere along the line though. If it's early on, will be interesting to see how England recover. Conversely, if England win in Brisbane the Aussies will have to start thinking can we actually beat this team in a Test series? They've only won 2 out of their last 15 Tests with England if my maths is right, that will play on the mind if England go ahead early.

Think Cook has a big series, Broad is looking very good with the ball too.
Got to back Clarke, back not withstanding, and the Aussie top wicket taker will be the one who remaind fit for 5 Tests so probably Siddle.

England to win 2-0, with wins in Adelaide and Perth, draws at the Gabba and Sydney and a washout in Melbourne.

Trott to be top scorer, Broad most wickets. Watson most runs for Australia, Siddle for most wickets

Olly - I suspect Norwich would be more than happy with 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 game abandoned from the next 5!  

Aye up Guildford we beat your lot the other week

Olly wrote:England to win 2-0, with wins in Adelaide and Perth, draws at the Gabba and Sydney and a washout in Melbourne.

Trott to be top scorer, Broad most wickets. Watson most runs for Australia, Siddle for most wickets

Oi ! Olly...no washout in Melbourne , please. I have tickets... It can rain somewhere else...

Anyway , predictions : I am not keen on picking numbers , but I do expect England to retain the Ashes.
If they can win in Brisbane they might take the series pretty easily , but Brisbane is a hard place for visitors. Australia will be pinning their hopes on ambushing England in this first match , and if they could do so then the pressure would really be on the tourists. So tomorrow will be a very important day.
No idea who will be the individual stars this time , but I imagine Broad will be keen to make his mark this time , having been invalided out early in the tour three years ago. I fancy he will take up any slack that might arise if Anderson is not able to quite replicate his success from that tour , though I think they will both do pretty well.
Harris strikes me as the most dangerous of the Australian bowlers , but one wonders how his notorious injury issues will treat him in this tight five match programme...and Johnson is impossible to predict.

Not game to predict who will make the runs : but I think England will make more of them

Can't wait for the start.

No rain here either please!

I'll go 2-2. England to retain the Ashes.

I think Australia will do better than last time and win 2 matches this series... but it wont be enough!

Brisbane - draw
Adelaide - Eng
Perth - Oz
Melb - Eng
Syd - Oz

Top run scorers: KP and Warner
Top wicket takers: Broad and Johnson

Here's a short prediction of mine for MSN Sport (3rd one down). http://sport.uk.msn.com/cricket/ashes-2013-14/ashes-2013-14-can-england-win-in-australia-400365

Just saw the weather report.
30 deg the first few days with increasing cloud cover. 33 deg on Day 4 and 35 on Day 5... chance of thunderstorms on those last 2 days.

Good read, Fists.

It will be as much a mental challenge for us but whichever team bats first tomorrow will have the better conditions available in their 1st inning.

The whole build-up to this series has been a little under-cooked here (apart from the usual wind-ups on the sports channels mostly) and you get the feeling most punters here are still very respectful of England and rightly consider them favourites... but are 'quietly' itching to see our guys have another crack at your blokes. Very hard to call. It could well be 3-1 again but I'd love to see a more competitive series.

I'm getting 'quietly' excited now. Can't wait to see and hear all the upcoming action in just over 12 hours.

England top scorer - Cook
England top wicket taker - Anderson

Australia top scorer - Clarke
Australia top wicket taker - Siddle

England to win 2-1

Australia can't expect England to bat as poorly as they did in England, while England can't expect Australia to be as poor as they were in England.
Still not convinced this is a particularly strong Aussie side, although they look a much better prospect than last summer. The return of Mitchell Johnson is good.....for England.
I expect Cook and Trott to have good series and for KP to play at least one match-winning innings. There is a school of thought that suggests this could be a drawn series for the first time since, oooh when, 1972? Failing an England win I would plump for a 2-2.
Strangely given the increased strength of the Aussies, I'm more confident of an England win and less confident of Australia doing anything than I was last summer when I felt England were getting cocky and over-confident and felt that Australia could not be as poor as they were

Linebreaker - thanks for the weather forecast. Appreciate I could probably get it with a few computer clicks but always prefer it being supplied from someone 'on home soil'.

Fists - good review as ever.

Feel the first Test is so incredibly important to the series and, in particular, Australia's strength or fragility. I believe England's batting will be the most decisive winning factor. Although I have doubts about Carberry transferring his excellent form in the warm up matches to the more hostile environment of Tests against better quality bowlers, I believe that our top seven will generally amass more runs. It's also a bonus to have Broad and Swann at 8 and 9 who are anything but mugs with the bat.

For me, the significant risk and potential weakness is Tremlett's expected inclusion. My concerns have been well rehearsed. I'll be more than happy to eat humble pie if the time comes. Another potential later concern - particularly if my doubts about Tremlett turn out to have some basis - is if Bresnan is rushed back before he's really ready.

All in all, I'll go with England to not only retain the Ashes but also win them. However, I don't expect it all to be plain sailing. An apparently comfortable 3-0 victory could just as easily become a much closer sounding 2-1.

As regards individual honours, I'll plump for Pietersen and Clarke with the bat and Anderson and Siddle with the ball.

PS Olly - it's the Corporal who is a Hammer! I'm a Cardinal (Woking) - your boys have never beaten us as far as I'm aware!  

Don't know if this is the right thread for this and don't know if everyone already knows this but there are hour long highlights shows on Pick TV every night at 10pm (or 11pm on Pick +1)
Apparently Pick is on both Freeview and Freesat.

Its been mentioned on the SkySports2 thread but well worth another mention. Its good there is something available on Freeview, just remember Pick TV is a gateway drug to a full-blown Sky subscription so please use it wisely (maybe only watch the highlights of days when England do well)

England will probably win but hope Australia can do it this time

England and Wales, remember, Steffan ;-)

England top scorer - Ian Bell - just a hunch

England leading wicket taker - James Anderson

Aussie top scorer - Michael Clarke - (obvious)

Aussie leading wicket taker - Ryan Harris (if he can stay fit)

Series prediction - England 3-1

Stella wrote:England and Wales, remember, Steffan ;-)

The team is called England

But you can call them England and Wales if that makes you happy  

Either way...come on the Aussies

Steffan wrote:England will probably win but hope Australia can do it this time

So NO prediction then:) 


For me, the Aussie batting is much the same (good on a few occasions but suspect) as the last time. Bailey could go either way? Johnson has a mental problem in Tests with England, Barmy Army - sing loud. Home turf of course somewhat of an advantage, but still going 3-0 to the lads.

Cook, Anderson
Clarke, Siddle

2-1 either way (have a hunch about the Aussies but hope I'm wrong)

UGGGGHHHHH!!


Can't stand it, still over THREE hours to go. Got my gin and cookies at the ready.

Depending on the pitches in Adelaide and Melbourne(drop in pitches are looking very flat in Shield cricket at present).

If Australia can't win at the Gabba, their hopes of winning the series(IMO) fall to below 20%.

On a flat pitch in Adelaide you'd expect Swann to cause some mayhem.

Australia will win at Perth.

Sydney favours England.

So at best for Australia 2-1.

England could easily win 3-1 or 4-0.

Top run scorer: Pietersen & Warner(he's averaging nearly 50 at home)
Top wicket taker: Broad & Harris

3-1 England

Bell top English run scorer, Watson for the Aussies (just to be a bit different)

Broad and Siddle top wicket takers.

skyeman wrote:UGGGGHHHHH!!


Can't stand it, still over THREE hours to go. Got my gin and cookies at the ready.

Might be a long old morning if England are bowling first.

Could be a very stressful one if England are batting first!

Gin and cookies?  there's a mix. I'm knackered but gonna push on thru and watch the first hour or so..

I expect the England team will be watching the Wales rugby...sorry mean Lions rugby footage of how to beat the Aussies on they're own patch

Steffan wrote:I expect the England team will be watching the Wales rugby...sorry mean Lions rugby footage of how to beat the Aussies on they're own patch

I expect England don't need to, they actually know how to beat Australia in rugby (unlike Wales - is it 5 years now?) and cricket.

Your almost as boring as glorious empire steff...

England top Run scorer: Prior
England top Wicket taker: Anderson

Australia top Run Scorer: Clarke
Australia top Wicket Tacker: Siddle

Lets bring it home boys!!!

3-1 win

Linebreaker wrote:No rain here either please!

I'll go 2-2. England to retain the Ashes.  

I think Australia will do better than last time and win 2 matches this series... but it wont be enough!

Brisbane - draw oops!
Adelaide - Eng
Perth - Oz
Melb - Eng
Syd - Oz

Top run scorers: KP and Warner
Top wicket takers: Broad and Johnson

Only KP has let me down so far.

I think it will be more likely an Oz victory now.
It will take an all-mighty effort from England to win at Adelaide Oval with Australia's superior record there.

Bresnan will play for the England Performance Squad tomorrow. If he shows any sign of being back to where he should be, you'd imagine he'll be parachuted straight back into the side for Adelaide.

If trundler Timmy comes through, I'd go with this team for Adelaide

Cook
Carberry
Root
KP
Bell
Prior
Stokes
Bresnan
Broad
Swann
Anderson

I like Stokes, but I'm not convinced he is worth his place on his batting. Certainly not with Prior in the form he is in. Has to be Finn. He'll take wickets, and Adelaide is more likely to help Swann than Brisbane so we can afford for our third seamer to be more attacking.

Trundler Timmy took 4-31 after scoring a half century yesterday

How susceptible to spin will Adelaide be though? If very susceptible why not throw Monty in there.

Quite interesting to look back on this thread 6 weeks later.

Well done (so far) to Stella - the only one of us to predict an Australian win.   

I did OK predicting KP / Warner and Broad / Johnson as the ones who would make the most runs and take the most wickets during the series... thus far.

Im going for 5-0 Aus. Borthwick to go the way of Kerigan.

Thought the Aussies may sneak the series, but did not see this coming. Who did? Glenn McGrath?

guildfordbat wrote:

I believe England's batting will be the most decisive winning factor.  

  I'll get my coat.

guildfordbat wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:

I believe England's batting will be the most decisive winning factor.  

  I'll get my coat.

One word out. Almost right, Guildford